


War After War

by SomeDemoMain



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Adrian is a fucking monstrosity in combat, Other, Post-Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Post-Half-Life: Alyx, Spoilers, Spoilers for Half-Life (the entire series), Why Did I Write This?, You do not fuck with Dr. Gordon Freeman, and you do not fuck with Corporal Adrian Shephard, please give me name suggestions for this fic the current name sucks ass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:35:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29228565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeDemoMain/pseuds/SomeDemoMain
Summary: Alyx Vance has been abducted. Adrian Shephard is brought back from stasis. I don't know what I'm writing.
Relationships: Azian Vance/Eli Vance (past)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. An Abrupt Welcome

**Author's Note:**

> This is set shortly after the end of Half-Life: Alyx. As such, this contains massive spoilers for the game and all other Half-Life games. If you are uncomfortable with graphic depictions of violence, or you don't want to have one of the best video game series of all time spoiled for you, do not proceed past this point.

Somewhere, within a Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey VTOL adrift in the void, Adrian Shephard stirred. The past twenty years were a blur, but the Marine had no idea how long he had been there. All he knew about his current situation was that someone-- no, some _thing--_ in a blue suit had imprisoned him in here while talking about "witnesses". Adrian was infuriated beyond belief at first, both at the nonchalance of the being who had put him in this goddamned Osprey and at how many innocents the inhuman thing had nuked.

Adrian's thought process was interrupted by an unfamiliar noise, a lone Vortigaunt manifesting. It looked different than Adrian had remembered, the alien now being wreathed in purple and having blue eyes, its collar gone. Slowly, more Vortigaunts appeared, all of them turning to look at Adrian. He was understandably unsettled, but this did not show. Adrian had figured out very early on that the Vortigaunts he was forced to kill at Black Mesa were slaves, and the notion still made his stomach turn. His rage was directed at the Nihilanth, a being who no longer existed, but he did not know that yet.

The Vortigaunt closest to him spoke, to Adrian's surprise, in clear, albeit gravelly, English.

"Greetings to the Shephard. We are honored to make your acquaintance, and we apologize for this abrupt intermission. Your home is changed, overtaken by the Combine. Your aid is required at White Forest."

Adrian barely had enough time to process this turn of events when two Vortigaunts stepped forward, gently grasping an arm each and sending a small amount of energy into his body. Released from his immobile state, Adrian stretched, overturning his gloved hands. The damage his PCV and clothing had sustained at Black Mesa was still there, but partially reversed.

The Vortigaunts disappeared in the same way they had appeared, except for the two assisting Adrian. Once he had risen, they nodded before disappearing along with the Marine.

The Osprey remained, silent, within the darkness.


	2. Orientation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian meets the men behind the Resistance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It should go without saying that Dr. Magnusson is going to be a huge prick.

The first thing that Adrian saw was a dim light.

It wasn't the flickering ceiling lights of the Osprey, or a fluorescent bar of illumination hanging from the ceiling. It was the light of the evening sun, setting on a very eventful day.

Adrian was at the sawmill and facing south, this information gained when he observed the crudely drawn map next to him, trying and failing to ignore the corpse of some bio-mechanical tripod. It was mainly a light gray color, with two eyes in the shape of an 8, and it had reflective dark blue armor. Looking away from the Hunter, Adrian focused on White Forest. The chain-link fence around 250 feet from his position was topped with barbed wire, a ramshackle pulley-wheel mechanism holding another piece of fence as a sort of gate. Behind the fence were several guard towers, manned by what Adrian assumed were the current residents of White Forest, and behind these towers was the base itself, a pair of blast doors leading into the complex. Adrian was surrounded by large legs of some sort, and he saw strange carapaces which were the same color as the legs. Some of the Striders were still intact, but most of them had been blown into pieces. They seemed to be made of a strangely familiar metal. Noting this, Adrian approached the towers, and a person in the leftmost tower within view spoke into a radio as the gate opened.

Shortly afterward, a Vortigaunt ran out to meet Adrian. As it approached, Adrian noticed that this particular Vortigaunt was wearing a lab coat and a name tag, and was able to read "Uriah" before it reached him.

"Your presence is requested by Dr. Magnusson and Dr. Vance. I will lead you to them if you are willing to follow." spoke Uriah, the Vortigaunt turning around and walking back into the base. Adrian hesitantly followed, still slightly unnerved by the various tripods. The blast doors closed behind Adrian with a hiss as he followed Uriah down a set of corridors, some Rebels briefly glancing at him before resuming their activities.

Uriah led Adrian to a door, pulling the lever and stepping into the room. Four people were in the room: a bespectacled, balding scientist who seemed to be in his late fifties writing on a clipboard with a somber look on his face, an older-looking scientist (who still somehow had more hair than the previous one) hunched over several computer monitors with an office chair behind him, an African-American man with a prosthetic lower left leg who had his face buried in his hands, and a person that Adrian recognized from Black Mesa. The familiar figure seemed to be in his late twenties, a brown goatee on his chin and a pair of glasses over his eyes, a crowbar in his right hand, and an orange HEV suit covering the rest of his body. Upon sighting the lambda emblazoned onto the HEV suit, Adrian immediately registered the man as Gordon Freeman.

Uriah introduced the others as Dr. Isaac Kleiner (the man with the clipboard), Dr. Arne Magnusson (who grumbled slightly at the mention of his name) and Dr. Eli Vance. "Your name is Adrian Shephard, correct?" said Kleiner. Adrian, whose throat was too dry for him to speak, nodded in confirmation.

"Welcome to White Forest. You've come at a complicated time. It seems that Al--"

A sorrowful glance from Eli and a slight shake of the head from Freeman stopped Kleiner mid-sentence.

"I'd like to talk to Adrian about recent events in private, along with Gordon." said Eli.

"Of course, Eli. Well, Adrian, you may go with Eli and Gordon if you want." replied Kleiner.

Adrian followed Eli and Gordon out of the room and through two corridors, now in the projector room. Once the trio had sat down, Eli spoke.

"So... before we talk about what's happened in the past few hours, we need to discuss _him._ "


	3. Briefing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Corporal Shephard, Dr. Freeman, and Dr. Vance discuss current affairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrian is not a silent protagonist in this fic.

Gordon raised a hand, signing something in ASL before Eli spoke again.

"We all know him. The bastard in the blue suit. He orchestrated all of this and locked you and Gordon away for twenty years so that you couldn't interfere. The difference was that he had his own uses for Gordon, but you would have gotten in the way."

Adrian nodded, letting Eli speak.

"The Vortigaunts found you just before the Citadel's superportal was neutralized. Kleiner can tell you more about that. They managed to pull you in right as he-"

Gordon placed a hand on Eli's shoulder, the older scientist clenching his shaking hands into fists. 

"The bastard took Alyx! Tricked my own daughter into saving me at her own cost!" roared Eli, slamming his right fist down onto the table to punctuate this.

Adrian jumped at the sudden noise, Gordon solemnly shaking his head.

After a few deep breaths, Eli continued.

"You got here after a massive Combine assault. That's why some of us are on edge, besides what I've just told you."

Adrian silently nodded, grabbing a blank yet slightly crumpled sheet of lined paper and a pen, writing for a few seconds before handing the page to Eli.

"Water? Sure, I can get you some." said Eli as he got up, walking out of view momentarily and reappearing, giving the water to Adrian. Adrian lifted his mask slightly, slowly drinking the entire cup and gently placing it down before putting his mask back down.

"Much better." said Adrian, in a voice somewhat lower than Isaac's but less gravelly than Eli's. "So, the Vortigaunts. They were enslaved, right? Who freed them?"

"Gordon did. Killed the thing that sent all the Xen lifeforms through. Turns out that it had enslaved the Vortigaunts too, and they allied themselves with us out of gratitude. They would have done so much quicker if they weren't enslaved in the first place and forced to attack us."

"And this superportal of yours... what was it for?"

"The Combine were sending reinforcements after we blew up the Citadel, and it had a data packet inside. Aperture Science had a ship called the Borealis. It's up in the Arctic after it teleported there, and we've got an old pre-war helicopter ready. Gordon and Alyx were going to head there right before Alyx was taken. We'll give you an old weapon we found and send you up with Gordon, if you're up for it."

"If this 'Borealis' is as important as it sounds, I'll go."

"Alright. We'll send you up in a few hours. Let's get you some supplies."

Eli and Gordon left first, Adrian following behind them.


	4. Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrian and Gordon begin their journey to the Arctic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right, you get a new chapter around half a week earlier than anticipated, because I have a Hell Brain and writing this gives me happy chemicals.

"So, once we make it up to the base, we head for the Borealis?"

"That's correct, Adrian," said Dr. Kleiner. "Remember, the Combine haven't located the Borealis' exact position yet. You'll be flanked by two squads of Resistance soldiers when you approach. Since the Combine have a suppression device set up, approaching by air would be disastrous."

"Alright, everyone, you ready?" said a Resistance pilot from the front of the Mil Mi-8, flipping a few switches to ready the helicopter for takeoff.

"Yes." spoke Adrian. Gordon nodded in approval, flashing a thumbs-up so the pilot could see. In response, the Russian helicopter's engine started as its blades folded out, and Eli and Kleiner said their goodbyes and entered the base again. D0G followed them, the hulking robot also having come to see them off. D0G evidently had a strong bond with Gordon, and Adrian had, admittedly, grown somewhat fond of the eight-foot mechanical monstrosity.

Adrian had been supplied with a G36C carbine and an M203 grenade launcher that had been modified to fit on the weapon, as well as some batteries for Gordon's HEV suit and his own PCV. Gordon had been given a Metrocop's pistol alongside his crowbar and the Gravity Gun. The weapons they had been given would hold them out until they reached the Borealis.

Moments after the scientists and D0G had left, the helicopter steadily rose, and Adrian relaxed into his seat as White Forest grew further and further away until it was no longer visible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please give me name suggestions for this fic, the current name is ass and I hate it


	5. Unexpected Interference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mil Mi-8 containing our protagonists is shot down around 2 miles from its destination of Station 48.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hell brain, happy chemicals, you know this already.

The Mil Mi-8 was ten and a half hours into its journey. Night had fallen eight hours ago. Gordon had been awake for two hours, and Adrian had woken up around 30 minutes prior. After checking for their supplies, Adrian noticed what seemed like a small base that looked similar to the remains of the Citadel around half a mile away. A small tower was being manned by what Adrian assumed to be Combine forces, and the pilot noticed this as well. A powerful light met Adrian's eyes, and several others joined it in illuminating the vehicle.

The helicopter had been sighted. 

As if on cue, Adrian noted the presence of a second tower on top of the base itself, and-- wait, was it _glowing?_

The pilot stopped the helicopter in its tracks before lowering it, identified the tower as a suppression device, and said that even if they were hit, the helicopter would simply be jostled around, since the Combine's power grids that weren't obliterated by the Citadel's destruction barely had enough power to operate the suppression devices. Of course, this would likely kill the engine, but they would land safely. Adrian thought about it, agreeing. As it stood, they were around 15 feet above ground, and at that distance, they could safely jump. 

The suppression device grew brighter, and Gordon nodded, grabbing an empty rucksack off the wall and putting the supplies that weren't inside Adrian's into the container.

"Alright, guys, get ready. They're gonna fire, but we're around a mile and a half from our intended destination. The Combine aren't gonna do anything to the helicopter, they never do. We can travel on foot, although Station 48 has an underground rail system that goes for around 2 square miles--"

The device fired, cutting off the pilot as the helicopter banked, hard, to the left, colliding with the soft snow and sending Adrian out of the opened side door. Gordon climbed out of the grounded chopper, readying his pistol and turning on his HEV's flashlight. Once Adrian and the pilot were located, Gordon put snow goggles over his glasses, and the pilot was wearing a ushanka and his own pair of goggles, providing sufficient insulation. Gordon's HEV suit was automatically heated and insulated for extreme temperatures, and Adrian had a helmet and a gas mask. Once everything they brought was retrieved, the trio went towards a pair of blast doors that led into the rail system.


	6. Back on Track

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrian, Gordon, and the helicopter pilot make it to the outpost, and Adrian remembers something he doesn't want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that chapter from Half-Life 1? "On a Rail"? Remember how absurdly boring that was?
> 
> Yeah, well, hope you're ready for something even worse because I suck at writing and I'm a fool and a dunce and a moron
> 
> Also, this chapter is where the graphic depictions of violence happen.

The blast doors opened slowly, the lights within the tunnel switching on once the entrance was fully unsealed. A large tram, similar to the one used in Black Mesa's Materials Transport area within Sector E, was a few feet into the tunnel itself, with actual seats this time and a far less bulky frame. A bright orange lambda was spray-painted onto the back of the tram, and sheets of corrugated metal were welded onto the tram itself as armor, and the roof was made of what Adrian identified as dumpster lids. Small heaters were bolted onto the sides of the tram.

"Charming," said Adrian.

The pilot and Adrian seated themselves as Gordon closed the blast doors, the physicist soon taking his place in the driver's seat. The hiss of steam signaled the train's operation, and the group was now on their way to Station 48.

Gordon turned on the heaters, and Adrian spoke.

"So, since we're going..." 

Adrian looked at the speedometer briefly, adjusting himself in his seat.

"...20 miles an hour, and the distance to Station 48 is around 2 miles, we'll be here for another five or so minutes."

"Seems about right, Adrian." said the pilot as the tram turned left at a junction.

"Hey, you never told us your name." remarked Adrian.

"Name's Eric," said the pilot, fiddling with his ushanka.

"Well, Eric," responded Adrian, "what experience with weapons do you have?"

"Besides the usual Resistance and Combine weapons, I usually have an AK-12 or a PKM. They're ridiculously easy to find back around White Forest, since it was built as a Russian missile base after the Cold War."

Adrian nodded in mild admiration, remaining silent.

As the tram turned slightly to the right, Adrian saw another pair of blast doors come into view. Gordon gradually slowed the tram, coming to a complete halt at the end of the rail and a few feet outside the doors. Adrian was the first to get up, stepping out of the train and onto a headcrab.

Wait, a headcrab?

A jolt of fear went through Adrian as he unsheathed his combat knife and advanced, the panic quickly being replaced with rage. He knew what these things could do, one of them got Henry after the Osprey crash, the muffled cries for help and the sobbing as it _lurched_ towards him, begging for him to kill it-

Adrian zoned back in as he heard Eric and Gordon run up behind him. The first thing he noticed was that his combat knife was embedded into the mangled, bisected corpse of the parasite. The snow around him was stained an ugly shade of yellow with the headcrab's entrails and blood, and the thing's body was covered in cuts and slashes. The bisection was not a clean one.

"Adrian, what the hell was that?" signed Gordon, unnerved.

"It leapt at you and you grabbed it. Then you threw it on the ground and you started stabbing it and you ripped it in half with your hands--"

"I did that?" interrupted Adrian, not wanting to hear the rest of Eric's retelling of the event.

"Yeah. The guys up in the security room must've seen us, because they started opening the door."

"...Let's just go inside," said Adrian, removing the knife from the headcrab's left half.

The three entered the base once they had retrieved their items from the tram, the blast doors closing behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah adrian ripped a headcrab in half in the midst of some ptsd no biggie this is normal behavior for a 22 year old


	7. Station 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrian experiments with aggressive negotiations.

Once the blast doors had closed behind them, the room they had entered became dark enough for Adrian's visibility to be reduced to around 5 feet. Eric confirmed this, and Gordon nodded. Almost directly afterwards, the lights in the room switched on, and four ramshackle security cameras swiveled to meet them.

"Decontamination process," said Eric.

"Isn't it too cold up here for--"

Two shutters that Adrian hadn't noticed opened to reveal three Rebels, the sound interrupting him as air hissed from four jets on the wall that moved up and down. After this, the pair of blast doors in front of them opened, and one Rebel left the room with the shutters to greet the trio. The Rebel shot Adrian a look of contempt, his disapproval apparent. The Rebel was around 5 feet and 5 inches tall, with a thin frame and unkempt black hair that poked out from under his beanie.

“Looks like we got ourselves a fuckin’ grunt. How many scientists didja kill back at Black Mesa, huh?”

Another Rebel’s voice came from the room overlooking the chamber, yelling “Shut up, Toby.”

“None. I never learned about our orders until I was around 7 hours in, and I thought they were bullshit, so I didn’t follow them. Now get lost,” said Adrian, clearly aggravated.

“Oh? And how many of your friends did you see die? Cryin’ fer mommy as they bled out on the ground?”

Adrian took three steps forward, unsheathing his knife as the Rebel backed up against the wall. At this distance, their height difference was impossible to miss, with Adrian’s height of 6’1” permitting him to loom over the much smaller Toby.

“H-hey, let’s just… talk this out, okay? I’m just pokin’ fun. You wouldn’t hurt me, wouldja?”

Adrian leaned forward slightly and moved the knife, stopping it just short of Toby’s carotid before placing it back in its sheath and walking away.

Eric laughed, clapping Adrian on the shoulder as Gordon ran up to meet them, the two Rebels back in the room with Toby. A fourth Rebel directed them to a meeting room, saying that a “Lieutenant Price” was expecting them. With this knowledge, Adrian and Gordon headed for the meeting room, with Eric heading to the barracks to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about this one being kinda lacking, I'm just super tired and I didn't really have this chapter planned (not like anything else in this fic was planned)
> 
> also PLEASE give me name suggestions for the fic itself I am BEGGING you


End file.
